Curtis Lofton vs. LeGarrette Blount

According to JoeBucsFan.com, Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton has started the trash talking between the two NFC South rivals.

During his weekly radio show, Lofton came after Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount, “I want all of him. I don’t want no piece. I want the whole thing."

Neither Blount nor the Bucs have responded, but you can almost guarantee the feeling is mutual in the Tampa Bay locker room.

It's no secret the Bucs have to get Blount going early in order to win on Sunday. Considering Tampa Bay has struggled to come out of the gates in the first half of both its games, look for the Bucs to run Blount and keep Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on the sidelines.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olsen made the right decision by continuing to run the football against the Vikings last week, even though the Buccaneers were playing from behind. Tampa Bay's offense is predicated on the play-action fake and without a semblance of a run game to keep Atlanta's defense honest, this could be a long one for the Buccaneers.

Ray Edwards vs. Jeremy Trueblood

The Falcons might have gambled a bit signing free-agent defensive end Ray Edwards.

Edwards saw success his last two seasons with the Vikings, but it's more attributed to who was around him rather than what Edwards did.

While with the Vikings, Edwards had two monster defensive tackles in Kevin and Pat Williams line up with him, and the always eccentric Jared Allen on the other side. With that kind of talent, it's no wonder Edwards had the kind of success he had.

Buccaneers right tackle Jeremy Trueblood has to contain Edwards and physically overpower him. Edwards is playing on a bad foot and his confidence is dwindling, having done very little in the Falcons' two games this season.

Trueblood needs to boost his own confidence by burying him early and making Edwards a non-factor.

Prediction

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The Buccaneers have played a boring, stale brand of football for six of the eight quarters they've been involved in this season.

The Falcons' coaching staff isn't as dense as the Vikings. Tampa Bay will get a heavy dose of Atlanta running back Michael Turner anyway, but if the Bucs fall behind early, the Falcons won't stop running.